9 iPad Music Apps to Rock Your World

You name it, you can probably play it on the iPad. That's the genius of the blank slate: All it takes is an app, and your iPad can be just about anything musical, such as a guitar, a keyboard, a drum machine, some sheet music or a beatbox.

Heck, if you wanted to, you could replace your recording studio or create an entire rock band with nothing more than an iPad and a suite of apps. (Though you probably won't get lucky nearly as much as a traditional rock star.) And if cranking tunes out of a tablet isn't your thing, there's a host of neat, interactive apps that teach you how to play real instruments.

From synthesizers to loop creators, sheet-music readers to recording tools, here are some of the coolest iPad apps for musicians we've found in the App Store.

GarageBand

Made by Apple, the GarageBand app is simply stunning. The app packs a virtual piano, guitar, bass guitar and drum set into an easy-to-use music suite for recording songs.

Especially neat are Apple's Smart instruments, which contain preset chords and rhythms for each instrument, so anything you play can sound good. This way, people of all ages will be able to pick up an iPad and compose some cool tunes.

Bebot

He can sometimes sound annoying, but the Bebot is too adorable to hate. Poke around on the screen to make some cool sounds, and the robot's mouth moves with your finger. The app includes nine "instruments" to choose from. This is a toy, at best, but a fun app to keep people entertained — or to annoy your coworkers.

iElectribe KORG

The hip-hop group Gorillaz created an entire album with software on iPads, and KORG's iElectribe app was one of their main weapons. The app acts as a virtual beatbox system with controls that work like a vintage analog synthesizer. You choose a loop, then add sounds such as a snare drum, percussion, synthesizer noises and other effects to build some high-quality beats.

Seline HD

Seline HD is the freshest take we've seen on a music app. It's like a keyboard that's been completely remapped into grids to create new improvisation possibilities on a touchscreen. The synthesizer includes 23 instruments, such as violins, flute, harpsichord and clarinet, and you can easily record your songs as WAV files that can be transferred to iTunes. This app is brilliant.

Sound Cells

Sound Cells is an interactive music app that turns sound into awesome visuals on a matrix grid. You just tap the matrix to create moving "cells." When a cell hits a wall, it creates sounds; when one cell collides with another, they change directions. It's similar to the fun Tenori-On matrix-based music synthesizer, which costs $1,600. At just a buck, Sound Cells is a steal.

Etude

Sight-reading sheet music isn't easy: It's like learning a new language, and if you didn't start as a kid, it's only going to be harder. Here's where Etude comes in. The app displays piano scores and plays the corresponding audio in real time.

Here’s the kicker: On the bottom of the screen, a virtual keyboard plays along with the song, highlighting the proper keys to teach you where to position your hands on a piano. Plus, you can download additional scores and lessons. The app is a universal download that works on both the iPhone and the iPad, but it's best on the latter; it shows the iPad’s potential to replace a music stand, and maybe even an instructor.

Tab Toolkit

Learning to play guitar can be a real challenge if you have to read chords, so simplified guitar tablature has been a popular alternative for beginners. Tab Toolkit makes it easy to find and save guitar tabs on the web. The built-in browser lets you browse music websites, then whenever you visit a guitar tab, it automatically detects it and allows you to file it away by artist and song title. Then when you're practicing, you can easily pop open the tab and start strumming away.

iReal B

After you're done reading tabs and want to learn to read chords, iReal B is an excellent app to train your brain into memorizing complex riffs. The app allows you to create and edit chord charts, and there's a playback feature to play the music while you practice and play along. The app includes 50 exercise chord progressions, and you can purchase chord packages that include audio files to play along.

SoundPrism

Another visual treat, SoundPrism is a virtual synthesizer that visualizes pitches in an extremely intuitive grid. Bigger, darker tiles are bass notes. Brighter, smaller tiles have higher treble. You get the picture. It produces beautiful sounds, and kids especially will enjoy playing music with this app. The best part is it costs nothing.